cross



v -A. T. GROSS.

Stylographio Fountain-Pen.

Patel fled May 11 INVENITGF! WITNESSES.

N.PETERS, PHDTO-LITHOGRAFHER. WASHINGTON, 0 C.

Mrs STATES STYLOGRAPH IC SPECIFICATION forming part of LettersFOUNTAIN-PEN.

Patent No. 227,416, dated May 11, 1880.

Application filed October 17, 1878.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALONZO T. CROSS, of Providence, in the State ofRhode Island, have invented an Improvement in StylographicFountain-Pens, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to that class of fountain-pens in which a tubularpoint and central spindle are used; and it consists, essentially, of thecombination of a needle tipped with some hard substance, such asiridium, and a tubular point of ordinary soft metal, when the needle isso adjusted in relation to the point that it shall in writing, alwaysproject sufficien tly through the tubular point to bear upon the paper.

Heretofore, as is well known, iridium and similar hard substances havebeen used to tip the points of pens, and the tubular points offountain-pens, as well as the needles or spindles, have been tipped withsuch substances.

For practical use, doubtless, a fountain-pen provided with a tip ofiridium both upon the needle and the tubular point through which theneedle passes, if perfectly made, would be perfectlyserviceable; but inthe manufacture of such pens it is found to be a matter of considerableexpense, and to require great care and the most skilled labor, to tipthe tubular points with a material like iridium. Such metal is not onlydifficult to bore for so fine a spindle as that used in fountain-pens,but it also requires great care to grind off the outside to give thepoint of the tube, after tipping, a proper shape and size.

I have discovered that by tipping the spindle with. iridium or similarhard substance, and so adjusting this spindle to the tubular pen-pointthat it shall, when in use, project always far enough to bear on thepaper, there need be no such hard tipping for the tubular point, butthat in use this tubular point, when made of soft metal, will wear intoproper conformity to the spindle, and, further, that great saving in themanufacture is also thereby effected.

I have illustrated the form of pen to which I apply my invention in theaccompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of afountain-pen to which my improvement may be applied. Fig. 2 is anenlarged sectional view of the writing-point.

In the drawings, A is the outer case; B, the vent-cap; O, the air-tube,attached to the upper end of the case A; D, the spindle, permanentlyattached to the lower end of the airtube.

The point-section E screws into the end of the case A, so that the pointd of the spindle D, which is tipped with iridium or any suita ble hardsubstance, may project slightly in front of the end F of the tube G.

The iridium tip cl constitutes an indestructible central guide forgrinding the end of the tube, so as to bring it in proper adjustment tothe end of the spindle D. The tip cl being hard and the tube G soft, themovement of the tube over the surface of an oil-stone, even by anunskilled workman, will cause the tube to be readily ground down to atrue and positively exact adjustment with the end of the spindle; and asthe ordinary wear in writing is but a slow continuation of this grindingaction, the original excellence of the writing qualities of thepen-point will be preserved indefinitely.

The end F of the tube will always wear to the true angle at which it isusually held by the writer, and will thus accommodate itself to thespecial peculiarities of every person, so as to produce the very bestresults in any case.

When the end of the tube G has been adjusted by use in the hands of anyone person it may be made to adapt itself to a more upright position orangle of holding by simply drawing back the end of the spindle bysuitable means, so that the end of the tube may be again worn down tothe proper angle or adjustment required; but if the pen is to be held ata less angle, then no new adjustment of the spindle is necessary, forthe reason that the continued wear of the tube will make the properperfect adjustment for the supposed new conditions.

Thus by my improvement this class of fountain-pen may be more cheaplymade with a fine point for writing without incurring the liability ofthe gradual production of a scratchy or imperfect action by use, as inpens heretofore constructed.

I do not claim the tipping either of the spin- 5 dle or tubular pointwith hard substances; but

What I do claim is In a stylographic fountain-pen, a spindle having atip of iridium or like hard substance in combination with a tubularpoint of comparatively soft metal, the spindle being ar- 10 ranged inthe point to project slightly and bear upon the paper, substantially asset forth.

ALONZO T. GROSS. Witnesses:

SooRATEs SOHOLFIELD, JOSEPH J. SoHoLmELD.

